The
Galata Tower (Turkish: Galata Kulesi), also called Christea Turris (Tower of Christ) by the Genoese and Megalos Pyrgos (The Great Tower) by the Byzantines, is located in
Istanbul, Turkey, to the north of the
Golden Horn. One of the city's most striking landmarks, it is a huge, cone-capped cylinder that dom
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Galata or Galatae is a district in
Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. Galata is located at the northern shore of the
Golden Horn, the inlet which separates it from the historic peninsula of old
Constantinople. The
Golden Horn more »
Galata is located at the north side of the Golden Horn, towards Taksim Square. Galata was surrounded by walls, constructed by the Genoese, until the 19th century. These walls started at Azapkapi near the Golden Horn. The Galata Tower was the northernmost observation tower and the walls go down to Tophane from this point.
Its name was "Sykai" (Fig field) during the Byzantine period. It also was called "Peran en Sykais" in Greek, which means fig field of the other side. Its name "Pera" which was used by the Levantines came from this origin. The origin of Galata was either "galaktos" (milk) in Greek or "calata" (stairway) in Italian.
Galata is on the European side of
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